Hodinkee
Point/Counterpoint: This Was The Year Modern Watches Eclipsed Vintage
Look to the auction world and the local AD for all the evidence you need.
1,185 articles · 14 videos found · page 14 of 40
Hodinkee
Look to the auction world and the local AD for all the evidence you need.
SJX Watches
First introduced as a handful of limited editions (including for Japanese retailer Yoshida), the minute repeating, luxury-sports watch has finally become a permanent addition to the Audemars Piguet catalogue with the Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie in Titanium. Despite its low-key looks, a tone-on-tone palette of a smoked, grey dial and brushed titanium case, the Royal Oak repeater is loud – literally – thanks to the patented Supersonnerie system within, which produces chimes that are clearer and louder than those of a traditional striking wristwatch. Initial thoughts The superb acoustics are unquestionably the focal point of the latest from Audemars Piguet (AP) – it is undeniably a successful striking complication thanks to the clever case (we explained the Supersonnerie in an earlier story). But the design of the Royal Oak repeater is arguably near perfect and worth a leading mention. At a glance the repeater looks very much like a typical Royal Oak, but the dial layout gives it perhaps the most classical face amongst its siblings. It has no date, and instead a small seconds at six to replace the central seconds found on most Royal Oak models. The seconds-at-six layout is typical of a dress watch, and it isn’t special per se, but it is unique for a Royal Oak, which was after all designed as a sports watch. By way of its thinness (at least in its original ref. 5402 “Jumbo” guise), the Royal Oak has always retained an elegant air that resonates wit...
Time+Tide
The 1940s were peak years for twin register chronographs with some notable greats from Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Lemania. As the functional sports watches of that era, the typical twin register layout was balanced with a delicate design language and an often whimsical art-deco flourish to the graphics. In 2021, their intricate detail and … ContinuedThe post MICRO MONDAYS: Furlan Marri deliver retro chronographs at a great price in their assured debut collection appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The definition of an everyday watch is one that doesn’t excel in any one particular area. It has to do everything, from jeans and hoodies, to bow ties and dinner jackets, and it has to do them all well. It needs to be noticeable yet invisible, characterful but discreet, and the Baume & Mercier Clifton … ContinuedThe post HANDS-ON: The Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic 10551 is a true everyday hero appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Revolution
The new Slim d’Hermès Perpetual Calendar now in titanium and either platinum or rose gold.
Hodinkee
Watchmaking's big night from the comfort of your own home.
Revolution
The evolution of the H.Moser Streamliner collection adds the sporty Centre Seconds.
Hodinkee
Mega watches bring mega dollars.
Hodinkee
The infamous live show makes a temporary comeback.
SJX Watches
Watches that are historical curiosities often make for good stories, and sometimes record-setting prices. The Patek Philippe ref. 2499 at Phillips’ upcoming New York sale, as it happens, is one such watch. Rare and usually expensive, the ref. 2499 is not the first perpetual-calendar chronograph made by Patek Philippe – that distinction goes to the smaller ref. 1518 – but it’s the most desirable, broadly speaking, because it has a largish case well suited to modern tastes. Introduced in 1950, the model is regarded to have been produced in four distinct series, each distinguished by various details like the shape of the pushers and the dial. The first series ref. 2499 is characterised by square, or rectangular, pushers, applied Arabic numerals on the dial, which also has a tachymetre on its periphery. For approximately the first two years of its production, the ref. 2499 relied on cases made by Emile Vichet, a Geneva specialist that was the go-to case maker for Patek Philippe during the period. Vichet case, round buttons. Image – Phillips Vichet and Wenger Vichet cases feature distinctive lugs, usually described as claw-like, which are elongated and curve sharply downwards. And because Vichet cases have a flat, as opposed to domed, case back, they sit slightly elevated, on the the tips of each lug, when placed on a table. The number of 2499s with Vichet cases is tiny: around four known in pink gold, and about 10 in yellow gold. Though Vichet went out of business i...
Ross Povey receives a number of emails from Canadian Navy divers whose invaluable information has helped shaped his research on Tudor military watches.
Time+Tide
Just the other day, Sandra was opining about the changing face of two-tone, and today this fine example of modern bi-colour watches hits the proverbial desk. The Record collection is Longines’ line of dressy daily wearers that offer a great entry point into some pretty serious mechanical watchmaking. And that’s because every single watch in the … ContinuedThe post Mixing business with pleasure in the form of the Longines Record in steel and gold appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Editor’s pick: Whenever I pop into an op shop (or thrift store for our American readers), I always make sure to have a look at the watches, JUST IN CASE. Because you never know, you might just have the level of luck of this guy who, in 2016, picked up a Panerai that turned out … ContinuedThe post Remember when that guy bought a broken Rolex-made Panerai at a car boot sale for £10? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Get the facts in this Squale 30 Atmos GMT Review from Two Broke Watch Snobs (video review inside as well) - specs, photos, wristshots plus pros and cons - read before you buy!
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato goes all black, all ceramic with the Laureato 42mm Ceramic. The case, the bracelet and even the buckle.
Revolution
There are watches and then there is the Rebellion 540 Magnum Tourbillon. Actually it is only the tourbillon part of its name that gives it away that we are actually talking about a watch, and not an assault rifle or muscle car. That’s not to say that the Rebellion 540 Magnum Tourbillon doesn’t have anything […]
Time+Tide
The Ianos Amfivios brings the military-issued OYK to civilian wrists with a titanium case, 300m water resistance and clever strap integration.
Fratello
It’s another Sunday morning, so it’s time for a hot cup of coffee and a heated watch battle. This week, Daan is back, and he takes on Jorg once more in a clash of two cult favorites. Daan’s pick is the recently released 38mm Hamilton Khaki Field Murph. The Murph has become a proper darling […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Hamilton Khaki Field Murph 38mm Vs. Seiko Prospex Alpinist to read the full article.
Fratello
Since the watch shocked the world when it first appeared in 2001 and still looks as unconventional and futuristic as ever, the question is fair: are the two new Ulysse Nardin Freak One Blue Enamel and Guilloche watches weirdos or class acts? Well, since one features a guilloché disc with a sunray pattern coated in […] Visit Weirdos Or Class Acts? Introducing The Ulysse Nardin Freak One Blue Enamel And Guilloché to read the full article.
Monochrome
Founded in 2022 by Nousseïma Baraket, Buci approaches watchmaking through the written word, taking ideas from books, poetry and different forms of writing. Its debut Garde-Temps collection established this identity, followed by collaborations with seconde/seconde/ and Revolution Watch magazine. With Nouvelle, its second collection, Buci turns to the short story, using the passage of time […]
Monochrome
The story of the Overseas begins in 1977 with the sporty-chic integrated 222, Vacheron Constantin’s bold response to a new generation of luxury sports watches represented by the Royal Oak and the Nautilus. Inheriting certain traits of the 222 but amplified and beefed up, the first-generation Overseas debuted in 1996. Now in its third phase, […]
Fratello
What if you had to choose just one watch from your entire collection and let everything else go? No backups, no rotation, and no keeping that one watch you rarely wear “just in case.” In this episode of Fratello Talks, Nacho, RJ, and Daan take on that particularly difficult hypothetical. The interesting part is that […] Visit Fratello Talks: If We Could Only Keep One Watch From Our Collection to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The charming and compact Lady B extends Blancpain’s collection of elegant ladies watches while upholding the brand’s longstanding commitment to mechanical calibres. At just 19 mm in size and almost spherical in form, the Lady B contains an upmarket automatic movement that transcends the quartz-powered norms for this segment of watchmaking. Initial thoughts The Lady B is the spiritual successor to the Ladybird Bullet, which introduced the world’s smallest round mechanical movement when it debuted 70 years ago under the leadership of Betty Fiechter, the first woman to lead a major Swiss watch brand. The “round” qualifier is important because the smallest mechanical movement — then, as now — was the Jaeger-LeCoultre cal. 101, which is still in production but in extremely limited numbers, and reserved for high jewellery collections. The Lady B (left) with the original Ladybird Bullet from 1956 The Lady B is larger than the vintage Bullet, but at just 19 mm it’s still small enough that the size is the main point of intrigue. The watch is almost spherical being 13 mm thick, but rather than feeling too thick this aspect gives the watch a charming bead-like feel similar to the original Bullet. The spherical feel is completed by the absence of conventional lugs; the Lady B instead features a pass-through channel for a selection of interchangeable straps. This hypothetically allows multiple Lady B’s to be “stacked” on the same strap for a jewellery-like look, b...
Deployant
MeisterSinger, the one hand watch specialist releases their annual edition for the Dutch market. This novelty has a stylised Tulip on the dial.
Monochrome
With the Projekt 01 Variant H, Kollokium puts an end to its first chapter, the watch that marked the independent platform’s debut. Since its introduction in 2023, the Projekt 01 has been offered in several iterations, with different materials and colours. Variant H returns to the black-dial aesthetic of the earliest editions, with the more […]
Monochrome
It looks like Charlie Paris has been updating its catalogue one collection at a time. It was only recently that it refreshed the Alliance line-up with new sapphire-dial models, and now the French brand takes up the Concordia. This collection in the past has delivered the blacked-out Concordia Automatic Kraken, as well as the original Concordia […]
Fratello
Without a doubt, one of the most talked-about recent releases is the Formex Aria Manufacture Chronometer, or simply Aria, as most people will refer to it. After I wrote the introductory article based on the press info, I was curious to learn more. While the design didn’t necessarily make me swoon, I know Formex well […] Visit The Formex Aria Proves The Phrase “Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It” to read the full article.
SJX Watches
IWC’s magnetism-resistant Ingenieur SL is now 50 years old so the brand is marking the occasion with the Ingenieur Automatic 50th Anniversary, a pair of limited editions that unsurprisingly take inspiration from a historical model. In 40 mm and 35 mm respectively, the two editions share the same brushed silver dial. The two are otherwise identical to the regular production versions, which means a sharply executed case and bracelet, but an industrial movement that doesn’t live up to the price. Initial thoughts Today’s Ingenieur is a derivative design, being based on Gerald Genta’s original of the 1970s (which explains the resemblance to the Royal Oak et al). But it is still a good looking watch, with a case and bracelet that are tangibly well done. The 50th anniversary edition isn’t creative by any stretch of the imagination, but still appealing in look and feel. But at launch in 2023 the Ingenieur was already pricey, especially considering the industrial, cost-effective ValFleurier movement. Still, the price then was forgivable given the wider landscape and integrated-bracelet-sports-watch fad. Now the larger, 40 mm version is US$15,000, which is pricey and difficult to rationalise. The 40 mm and 35 mm, both of use employ different but equally industrial calibres SL reborn The anniversary editions are based on the standard 40 mm and 35 mm models respectively. The two are essentially identical in design and quality; both contain different but comparable movements....
Monochrome
Founded by Toni Brodführer, DUG Glashütte focuses on producing watches in accordance with the requirements of the Glashütte designation of origin, and the inaugural Purist was conceived as a straightforward proposition built around the traditions of Saxon watchmaking. The brand is now expanding the collection with a smaller case. The new Purist 37 retains the […]
Worn & Wound
The Benrus Type I and Type II are among the category of iconic military watches that first took root in the 1940s around WWII with the famous Dirty Dozen. The Type I and II are an extension of this lineage with designs that met the U.S. military’s formal specifications for wristwatches better known as MILSPEC during the Vietnam War in the 1970s and later throughout the special operations community, particularly among CIA paramilitary forces, Navy SEAL, and UDT teams conducting maritime missions. Benrus has kept this piece of horological history alive in its contemporary catalog, with modern interpretations of both models becoming part of the brand’s permanent collection in the new millennium. Now, that legacy continues with a brand new twist and a brand new collection: the Type 3X. Today, the needs of military forces look very different than decades ago when the Type I and Type II were originally developed. Technology has transformed warfare, but there’s still a need for simple, dependable tools that work if technology fails. This sparked a simple question among a group of former special operations veterans: what would a modern version of the Type I and Type II look like if it was designed by the people who actually use it? Instead of beginning in a design studio, the project started the way many special operations ideas do – around a table, with this small group of individuals who had spent their careers solving problems in demanding environments. Their approach w...
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.